Veterans continue to struggle with the challenge of translating their skills to a civilian workplace — unemployment rate in the veterans’ community tends to run two percentage points higher than the general population. Plus, with the hike in the cost of a new Amazon Prime Mebership rising from $79 to $99, will Amazon’s membership flee to Netflix? And with Financier David Rubenstein, co-founder of The Carlyle Group, splitting the $15 million cost of restoring the Washington Monument 50/50 with the U.S. government, we explore the viability of this kind of solution.

Microsoft has been warning for a long time that it’s going to stop supporting Windows XP. We explore what ATMs – the majority of which still use the system – will do without Microsoft’s support. Plus, as the Fed meets this week, Janet Yellen, a strong proponent of Fed transparency, will be watched to see how she talks about the Fed’s thinking as well as its actions. And how will countries like Turkey with emerging economies fare? After all, at the Fed’s last meeting, countries like Turkey held emergency meetings and raised key interest rates to retain and attract money as the US central bank continue to cut back on its cash injections. Plus, Baton Rouge residents are trying to form a new town, but, it’s not that easy.  

The Republican National Committee launches a huge television ad as live television (and live television ads) are less and less popular with viewers. Are political parties missing the boat by still targeting TV, or do they have so much money to spend, it doesn’t matter how closely targeted their ads are? Plus, housing starts are on the up again after a grim winter. What’s prompting the bump? Also, the convention that is a convention all about conventions. And with the proliferation of social media and data-gathering apps, Oakland, California residents are feeling the peer-pressure to save water because of a frowny face utility statement.

We ask what deportations have done to sectors of the economy – construction, agriculture, etc. – that have historically relied on undocumented labor. Also, what’s the matter with kids’ stores these days? Urban Outfitters says  it simply blew some fashion decisions, but what’s going on with Aeropostale?

We take stock of the privatization of U.S. space ambitions, and the business opportunity this presents entrepreneurs. Plus, as states that have adopted the Common Core curriculum have chosen one of two new assessments to test the skills students will be required to learn, we examine how important is it that testing goes well. Also, last month’s farm bill promised to cut 8.6 billion dollars out of SNAP – formerly known as food stamps — over the next decade by restricting a practice known as “heat and eat.” Now at least six states are getting around SNAP cuts by tweaking their “heat and eat” programs. Last of all, a look at the takeover of The Corcoran Gallery of Art, DC’s oldest private art museum, and its art college by the National Gallery of Art and George Washington University.  

Find out more about “zombie properties”: houses vacated by the homeowner, lingering for years without being repossessed or resold while attracting vandals and blight. We explain why they matter in the post-recession housing recovery. Plus, with Amazon reportedly poised to release its new TV set-top box which will allow viewers to stream video over the Internet, we take a closer look at the set-top box wars. Hear about how the California legislature is crowdsourcing a bill regarding probate tax code.  Will it work? Also, the potential winding down of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, and what it means for homeowners and buyers.

The Urban Institute releases a study for the Justice Department on the monetary size of the underground commercial sex, drug, and weapons economies in U.S. cities. The recruitment and business tactics of pimps and traffickers include traveling in circuits to increase profits and evade law enforcement detection. Plus, indications of a developing El Nino have now come from not just the U.S., but also Japan and Australia. The warnings are being taken seriously by farmers and by investors; the last big El Nino caused a lot of crop damage, and agricultural markets are already tight. And at the SXSW conference, wearable technology is getting a lot of buzz.

On the third anniversary of Fukushima, a look at how U.S. energy providers calculate the viability of nuclear power versus its risk. Also, we examine the successful business model of Cars.com, which could be sold by the group of newspaper owners which created it in answer to a drop off in car ads. Also on tap, Walgreens is outfitting stores with a new type of software to help guide healthcare providers through checkups, using vast stores of data to tailor questions to a patient’s health history. We ask what predictive software can do to improve our health. Plus, a conversation with Globalist Stephan Richter about the pay disparity between men and women.  

It’s a banner year for companies looking to go public. Plenty of IPOs already so far this year; plenty more to come. But there are worries about the stimulus that the Federal Reserve has been providing the economy. So why would you want to go public now? Plus, businesses in Venezuela have had a hard time getting cash. The country’s official currency exchange system is a mess. It sells 11 bolivars for one U.S. dollar, while the black market rate is 80 to 1.